We’re on (naked) vacation!

Dear Friends,

We’re on vacation this week (woohoo! relaxation! rest! rejuvenation! fun family vacay!) in Sunriver, Oregon which is important for you to know for two reasons, as follows:

Blog posts this week may be sporadic and short.
Or frequent and long.
Or sporadic and long.
Or frequent and short.
Who knows, really?
Our family vacations, while always memorable and bonding, rarely go according to plan.
Which brings me to…

We left every single boy suitcase at home.
Every. Single. One.
We planned our packing.
We packed our bags.
And then we loaded all of the girls’ suitcases in the cars and left the boys’ suitcases on the landing at the top of the stairs.
Or we left them downstairs by the front door.
Or we left them outside next to the garage.
So,
if you’re in Sunriver this week
and you see our naked family walking around,
please do introduce yourself and say hello.
Frankly, we can use all the friends we can get.

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ABOUT BETH WOOLSEYI'm a writer. And a mess. And mouthy, brave, and strong. I believe we all belong to each other. I believe in the long way 'round. And I believe, always, in grace in the grime and wonder in the wild of a life lived off course from what was, once, a perfectly good plan.

13 comments

I did this last month when we went to Disneyland. I dutifully packed three children’s suitcases, double checked every outfit, tossed in extra pairs of underwear and socks, ensured the new BIG TRIP clothes were washed and folded and put in place. Extra shoes? Check. Swim suits? Check. This is something I never do, by the way. This was only because we were vacationing with my Mom who raised ONE child and has now forgotten how much STUFF even only one child has and the blessed moment when you realize your children are capable of understanding that an entire outfit is a bottom AND a top and you stop looking over their shoulders or caring whether you must go to the nearest big box store and procure some undies because they FORGOT that a whole COMPLETE outfit also includes underwear and you forced them to pack themselves without thinking twice about it. So when the mini-bus we were taking the six of us (yes, we took a 15 person van for six of us because I like to think we are geniuses. When we reached California we met up with step-dad who had taken step-sister a couple of days early so we had an extra car which resulted in each child having an ENTIRE BENCH to themselves in the van with grandparents driving and blessed peace with nobody touching each other or poking each other or breathing each other’s air). While my Mom loaded up the van I went to wake the baby brother who, in his failed efforts to contain his four-year-old excitement at visiting Disneyland, had passed out in the middle of the floor of his room. Since my Mom would think this is an abomination that a child should HAVE to nap on the FLOOR (I left him there because, well, eh, he’s fine) I went to retrieve him and load him up very last. Well, not all the way very last, since his suitcase was in his room and I was NOT going to risk waking him up mid-gathering-of-supplies lest we commence the UNpacking of things again because, “MOM!! Can I have my headphones now? See, I got them out to show you them! No? Why must I return them to my backpack? How about this snack I also found? No, not that one, I need the one that’s in the BOTTOM of the bag you packed me. No, I didn’t put the headphones back, or the snack, but look! I found my new sandals Nana bought me! They were in the bottom of THIS bag, Mom!” So when we got to our destination for the night and I sent each child with their suitcases up to the condo I discovered… preschool child had no suitcase to dutifully wheely to his room all by himself. It was still waiting patiently in his room to be loaded up. All the way 400 miles back. So we ended up making a trip to the big box store to procure clothes anyway, except this time in the form of an appropriate wardrobe for nine whole days of magical fun. Luckily he was the cheapest one to clothe, however also the one who needed it the least because THANK YOU HAND-ME-DOWNS he has more clothes than his two sisters and mother combined. Makes for a good memory though!

😀 😀 :D. Still chuckling!! We left on vaca one year, with my older brother packed and ready for college. About 30 minutes into the trip–all the luggage slid off the top of the station wagon. Everyone’s things were fine, EXCEPT my brother’s pants. They were on pant hangers and the friction burned them all off at the cuff :D. Talk about high water pants. (But they WERE still pants.)
I’m sure you’ll figure out something with dish towels, shower curtains, dad’s t shirts–just a few suggestions :D. Have fun.

Reminds me of the time I took my kids to Hershey Park and made sure we got a hotel with a pool, and ran around the house yelling at everyone to not forget their bathing suit and when we forgot there discovered that it was I who forgot to pack my bathing suit.

No wonder you had all that extra space in the back! Thanks for a great laugh. Just to set your mind at ease, we drove over and checked–they are not on your driveway or front porch. 🙂 I’m betting there’s a great outlet mall not too far away, which as you know, would be perfect to fit into MY vacation.

I _always_ forget to pack something; forgetting to pack the bags into the car is a grand step above anything I’ve ever done! Thanks for giving me an Extreme Tale to share the next time I forget something, to make my error seem not so bad. 😀